So I was pondering the 96 Krug for SQN trade over on CC. (don’t get too excited unless it is the 85 late disgorged from Rare Wine or the 90 CdM)
As I go through my mental library of “WOW!” wines, very few champagnes make the list. They are mostly reds, some desserts, a white or 2.
So when you think about those “wines that rock your world”, are they mainly reds or do they fall into other categories?
85 Krug Late Disgorged released by Rare Wine in late 1999. “utterly champagne” and my “champagne moment”. I love Cristal but this was IT. DAMM.
Then came the 1990 Krug CdM. WOW WOW. Again beating the pants off all my Cristal experiences.
Cristal is more consistent, Krug has those highs of highs, at least with these 2 bottles. All the rest of the Krugs (NV, 88, 89) have left me saying “good bubbly” next.
Whites? Some white rhones have been very impressive. But as I cannot name them by producer and vintage, they must not be as noteworthy (Beaucastel VV and Chave Blanc spring to mind) And some white burgs (Something Dick Krueger opened at the last wine geeks, Sauzet Batard Montrachet IIRC) But would I kill you for them? Probably not. Stand between me and the rest of this list, wear kevlar.
Reds:
1970 Bodegas Marques de Murrieta Castillo Y Gay Rioja
Gran Reserva Especial Cosecha (drank July 2000 at SantaCafe)
1991 Chave (drank January 2002 at Taillevent)
1981 Grange (drank July 2002 at Tejas de Brasil in Dallas)
2001 SQN Midnight Oil (friends house in Bernalillo)
Dessert
1971 Climens (every time)
1970 Taylor (but still wayy to young)
Couldn’t vote. What’s my favorite wine depends heavily on what I’m eating.
old Burgundy with duck, veal, light beef dishes, and others
old Barolo with osso bucco and other veal
Northern Rhône with cassoulet, duck, and others
Champagne with caviar, oysters, and light appetizers
White Burgundy with light fish dishes
Volnay with wild salmon
Barbaresco with Swordfish
Rioja with lamb
Dick it seems to me that most of those choices are RED. So red rocks your world more often than white… (no I’m not putting words in your mouth, just making an observation)
“favorite wine” and pairing I get, because you’ve taught me well. My question may be too simplistic, but “rocking your world” are those 5-10 bottles over a lifetime that made you really sit back and say “wow that changes how I look at things”. I’ve had some experiences in all categories but the majority for me are red.
Apologies, that post was cut short by story time for my daughter. Reds, its all about the reds. The style and complexity that the Rhone can bring is amazing to me.
And, if I had to stack what you’re asking for into tiers, next would be whites, then dessert, then Champagne.
I don’t know why but I just never got too serious into Champagne. I maybe keep a few bottle on hand, but its not something I ever think about other than at a wedding toast.
I grew up with wine, would drink red, white, bubbly, and always loved reds - still do. Until around 4-5 years ago, however, I treated whites as pre-lims to reds, until I bothered to delve more deeply into whites. I think it was a Chateau Haut-Brion Blanc 1999 that started me thinking that I delve deeper into whites. That eventually led me to whites of Burgundy, Alsace, a bit of Rhône, and, currently, thinking about those from Germany.
I had a similar journey. White rhones got me started, then white burgs, then alsace. They used to be preludes to reds, now they can be the focal point of a meal or evening.
Ran into an interesting “problem” the other day. Found fresh, wild caught, black cod. Gorgeous fish. But people wanted a red. So we started with pinot (Kistler and Seasmoke) and then took a pause before doing a Turley white coat with the fish. So the red was the prelude to the white.
I would never had considered this except in 2004 a few sommeliers in France (CdP region) were always pushing us to do our cheese course with a CdP Blanc. We shook our heads, but jumped in. WOW. It refreshed the palate and now is something I try to do more often. Not only because it is almost perfect, but it challenges other’s views.
I’ve always generally preferred whites with cheeses. When I started visiting Bdx, I immediately learned that many like to drink red with everything there (not too surprising) - fish, cheese, even foie gras (except in the Sauternes area of course). I’d go along, of course, “when in Rome” and all, without saying anything. I would, though, buy myself some whites for myself and to share with my hosts back at the house.
Anecdote: At the Fête de la Fleur in 2007, during the cheese course (with reds), we were discussing the cheeses at our table and Bartholomew Broadbent (Michael Broadbent’s son) mentioned that he generally preferred whites with cheese. I whispered to him that I felt the same way, but was glad he said it and not I.
Talk about a loaded question. Make me wanna [suicide.gif] Anyway, I couldn’t possibly pick one but I do know that I had more success with reds than the others. However, it doesn’t seem fair since I do drink a lot of reds. I have little experience with bubbly but that is changing since my wife love them. Best bubbly I had to date was a 76 Dom. Best white I had to date was a 98 Marcassin chard. Best dessert to date is 2001 d’Yquem. Reds are much tougher to break down do to the number of choices out there. Great question Jeff.
And it would be my guess, speculation, WAG, that until you have the “bubbly moment” you won’t seek them out.
One needs to get turned onto a “different category” if you will. And if they are always “ok” or “fine” you won’t keep in that category. But if you have a “wow” then you’ll find more as you keep looking for that moment again.
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Anyway, I couldn’t possibly pick one but I do know that I had more success with reds than the others. However, it doesn’t seem fair since I do drink a lot of reds. I have little experience with bubbly but that is changing since my wife love them. Best bubbly I had to date was a 76 Dom. Best white I had to date was a 98 Marcassin chard. Best dessert to date is 2001 d’Yquem. Reds are much tougher to break down do to the number of choices out there. Great question Jeff. 